Funny business

I may not be able to see the eyes of comedian Harland Williams, hidden as
they are behind the fly's eyes sunglasses that shield the Los Angeles glare, but
the hand he extends to shake mine is staring at me.

On each of his four right fingers he wears identical rings, each one adorned
with an unsettling eye.

"I just got them 'cause they really freak me out," drawls the laconic
Canadian. "I feel like a potato. I just like the way they seem to be looking. I
thought, 'I bet it'd look neat if my whole hand was covered with eyes.' ''

Williams is an engaging oddball who has turned his idiosyncratic outlook into
a multi-pronged career since moving from Toronto to Los Angeles in 1990. He has
had roles in films such as There's Something about Mary,Sorority
Boys and Dumb and Dumber, but he is also the author of children's
books and an artist. But he is primarily a critically acclaimed stand-up
comedian.

Last year, Williams went around the world on a private jet with National
Geographic, visiting places including Easter Island, Nepal, India, Peru and
the Great Barrier Reef.

"I swam right up to one of those sea snakes . . . I wonder what would happen
if Sting was there swimming and he got stung? Would it not work because his
name's Sting?"

Williams's sense of humour is peculiarly British. He gew up in the US
watching Monty Python.

"I appreciate a well-crafted joke or whatever, but I'd rather see a guy
rolling around in a field with a refrigerator or something, know what I
mean?"

Barry Humphries is another favourite of Williams, who is delighted to hear
that the Melbourne Comedy Festival critics' prize is called the Barry Award in
his honour.

"Oh! That guy's my favourite. When I saw him, I noticed how much he loved to
talk with the crowd and just run with it, and that's what I love to do. If I'm
feelin' hot and sassy, I do it a lot. If I'm feelin' like a Korean stink bomb, I
don't do it much at all."

Williams is about to release a live comedy CD, Harland Williams Crowd
Control.

"It's all just spontaneous, funny moments between me and the audience;
hecklers, morons . . . Not a lot of comics do that back-and-forth with the
audience, but for me that's one of my favourite things."

Somehow, the non-stop Williams has found the time to finish his first novel.
He also has a new movie coming out, Winn Dixie, has provided voices for two
upcoming animated films, and has a DVD coming out, Enter at Your Own
Risk, which is a series of Monty Python-inspired skits he wrote
and directed.

"If it's artistic and creative I wanna try it," he says. "Maybe that's why
I'm not married, I'm always doing stuff. I think maybe I just gotta settle down
and open a pancake palace or something. Get me a real pancake-lovin' woman . .
."

Harland Williams performs in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
at the Hi Fi Bar, city, from April 8.